Personal timepieces or watches, whether digital or analog, wrist watch, pocket watch, fob watch, ring or pin watch, are well known. Some watches are enhanced in value and appearance by the use of precious and/or semi-precious metal, stones and/or jewels. Other timepieces have other embellishments, some of which add to the information provided by the timepiece and/or add to the enchantment of the timepiece.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,734,895 to Grosskopf discloses a timepiece that includes a pendulum-like support for carrying an exposed jewel. Bearings are mounted so as to permit the exposed jewel to revolve in the space between the face of the watch and the crystal covering the face. The path of the movable exposed jewel is about an axis that is concentric with the arbors supporting the hands of the watch.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,738 to Bunz discloses a gem setting having a holding body with a borehole. The gem to be set in the setting also has a borehole. An elastic connecting member is placed between the boreholes to set the gem in place.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,119,350 to Delacretaz et al discloses a timepiece which has a decorative pattern fixed to an arbor of one of the hands, such as the seconds hand arbor so that the decorative pattern rotates with the supporting arbor.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,400,304 to Offenstein discloses an ornamental clock in which decorative stones or jewels are glued to the underside of the transparent crystal covering the face of the clock. The glue used to secure the decorative elements to the underside of the crystal is transparent.
Other timepieces, such as pocket watches and fob watches, have an openable compartment that encloses the watch face and watch cover. However, objects should not be stored in the compartment, because they may cause damage to the watch cover, especially where a watch crystal is used.
While the prior art is of interest, it does not address the particular need to secure a gem setting to a watch cover, such as a watch crystal. Furthermore, the prior art does not address the particular need to provide a hinged, hidden compartment on a timepiece for engraving messages and storing small objects. The present invention seeks to solve these long felt needs.